Fulbright FLTA Program: Story of a Bangladeshi scholar
Nahida Sultana :
The Fulbright program, founded by United States Senator J. Willian Fulbright in 1946, has been considered one of the most prestigious scholarships in the United States operating in over 160 countries around the world.
This program is one of the most widely known cultural exchange programs in the world and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).
Among several cultural exchange programs, The Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) is the unique one aiming at improving international relations, cultural diplomacy and intercultural competence between the people of the United States and other countries.
The Fulbright FLTA Program promotes cross-cultural understanding in the U.S. and in the home countries of the FLTA fellows through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills.
A life changing opportunity
The FLTA scholarship is designed to develop Americans’ knowledge of foreign cultures and languages by supporting teaching assistantships in more than 35 languages at hundreds of U.S. institutions of higher education as well as by offering educators from over 55 countries the opportunity to refine their professional skills.
From Bangladesh, every year only two/three young educational professionals working in English language and other related fields get this golden/unique/tremendous opportunity by participating and going through highly competitive stages. Nahida Sultana, an Assistant Professor of English in the Department of Humanities at Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) has got this extra-ordinary scholarship and she has attended the program from 2023 to 2024 at Cornell University, New York, which is one of the eight Ivy league universities in the USA holding 12th position in the QS world university ranking 2024.
Multidimensional program
Nahida Sultana taught at the Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University where she shared the cultural heritage of Bangladesh with the students, scholars, and other academicians of the USA. She is the first Bangladeshi Fulbright scholar who inaugurated the Bengali Fulbright Teaching Assistantship in Cornell University. She was also a graduate student (non-degree) besides this, she played the role of ambassador of Bangladesh by sharing and exchanging the Bengali culture, language and history.
The Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) program significantly contributes to the development of various skills for participants. It enhances participants’ skills across several key areas, including language proficiency, teaching techniques, and cross-cultural communication through immersive teaching experiences and cultural exchange activities.
FLTAs develop professional skills such as leadership, networking, and research, as well as personal growth in adaptability and self-confidence. The program also provides opportunities for academic advancement and the practical application of pedagogical methods, fostering a comprehensive skill set that benefits both their professional and personal lives.
Moreover, working in a new cultural setting develops a long list of soft skills, including adaptability, organization, problem-solving, and self-confidence.
The experience serves as a valuable source of learning that participants can draw on well beyond the duration of the program. Nahida Sultana experienced many of these benefits during her time at Cornell University. Teaching Bengali, she would have improved her teaching techniques and language proficiency while engaging in cultural exchange activities that enriched both her and her students’ understanding of each other’s cultures.
Overall, the Fulbright FLTA program offers a comprehensive platform for developing a wide range of skills that are valuable both professionally and personally.
The story of Bangladeshi Fulbright scholar Nahida
“I am Nahida Sultana, an assistant professor of English in the department of Humanities, Chittagong University of Engineering and technology (CUET). Since my childhood, I have been cherishing a dream to go abroad and get to know people from different cultures and communities. When I became a student of the English Department, Dhaka University achieving 53rd position in university admission test, I came to know about the fascinating stories of Fulbright from departmental seniors and respected teachers which sowed another dream into my heart to be known as a Fulbright scholar one day. Later, I applied for the Fulbright FLTA scholarship in 2023, went through extremely high competition, was shortlisted and called for viva.
My dreams finally came true and the dream coming true moment was getting an email from US embassy, Bangladesh after my remarkable, confident performance in viva which declared that I was selected as the primary candidate for the prestigious Fulbright FLTA scholarship 2023-24! After that, I got appointed at Cornell University, NY, flew to 35,000 feet high altitude in the sky for the first time in my life and hit the ground of my utopia.
“The Fulbright FLTA program not only enhanced my professional development but also enriched my personal growth, leaving me with a deep appreciation for the power of cultural exchange and education.”
Nahida Sultana said, “I owe to the Fulbright FLTA scholarship which has given me the opportunity to explore the diversity of the USA, mix with people from different corners of the world, know their cultures, costumes, traditions, norms as well as languages and thus enhance my cultural awareness. I am not the same person as I was before.
Through this exchange program, I have grown personally and a new version of me has been born who is now more culturally competent, and professionally skilled. I have got new friends from more than 100 countries around the world. The global network that I have built throughout the period of nine months has included me in the global community and turned me into a global citizen in a true sense.”
